Exam 17: The Evolution of Plant and Fungal Diversity

According to this figure, at what time in the evolutionary history of plants did vascular systems likely first evolve?

Old cemeteries (pre-1900) often have gravestones that often host many types of lichens. However, it is not impossible to find old cemeteries where lichens are entirely absent. Given what is known about lichens, an old cemetery without lichens probably

Corn, rice, wheat, fleshy fruits such as apples and berries, and many spices are all produced by

Plants dependent on night-flying (nocturnal) pollinators typically have flowers that

A growth-producing region of cell division, known as a/an ________, is found near the tips of stems and roots.

In ferns, the ________ produces spores by ________ in ________.

The angiosperm plant we see represents the ________ generation, and the flower produces ________.

Which of the following organisms has a dominant sporophyte generation and a free-living gametophyte generation?

Many flower traits are specifically attractive to a certain type of pollinator. For example, the scent of rotting flesh is attractive to certain flies and beetles but not to most other pollinators. What adaptive purpose is served by this kind of "niche marketing" of flowers to specific pollinators?

Which of the following represents the male gametophyte of a conifer?

As fungi play important roles in ecosystem processes as decomposers and symbiont partners, scientists are interested in understanding how global climate change may affect fungal diversity. In 2007-2008, scientists visited the maritime Antarctic, an area of the Southern Hemisphere that is noted to be warming the fastest, to conduct a survey of fungal diversity along a climatic gradient (the most prevalent weather conditions of a region along an incline). Twenty-nine soil samples were taken along the gradient. Fungal diversity was measured in operational taxonomic units (OTUs); one OTU = one cluster, or group, of organisms. Here is a portion of the data collected: Source: Newsham, K. K., Hopkins, D. W., Carvalhais, L. C., Fretwell, P. T., Rushton, S. P., O'Donnell, A. G., & Dennis, P. G. (n.d.). Relationship between soil fungal diversity and temperature in the maritime Antarctic. Nature Climate Change, 6, 182-186. -In this frigid Antarctic region, there is a thin soil layer that defrosts during the year. However, the rest of the soil in the region, called permafrost, stays frozen. Which of the following characteristics would best help plants to survive in this soil-poor climate?

Which of the following statements regarding ferns is true?

In angiosperms, pollen grains develop in the ________ and land on the ________.

Mosses belong to the group of plants known as the

Heterotrophic eukaryotes that digest their food externally and absorb the small molecules are referred to as

The ancestors of land plants were probably ________ that lived in ________.

In a moss, most of the plants that we see are ________; in a fern, the most dominant stage is the ________.

Fungi are found associated with the earliest plant fossils. Fungi may have helped plants become terrestrial by

As fungi play important roles in ecosystem processes as decomposers and symbiont partners, scientists are interested in understanding how global climate change may affect fungal diversity. In 2007-2008, scientists visited the maritime Antarctic, an area of the Southern Hemisphere that is noted to be warming the fastest, to conduct a survey of fungal diversity along a climatic gradient (the most prevalent weather conditions of a region along an incline). Twenty-nine soil samples were taken along the gradient. Fungal diversity was measured in operational taxonomic units (OTUs); one OTU = one cluster, or group, of organisms. Here is a portion of the data collected: Source: Newsham, K. K., Hopkins, D. W., Carvalhais, L. C., Fretwell, P. T., Rushton, S. P., O'Donnell, A. G., & Dennis, P. G. (n.d.). Relationship between soil fungal diversity and temperature in the maritime Antarctic. Nature Climate Change, 6, 182-186. -Usable (liquid) water sources in the maritime Antarctic are directly related to air temperatures: the warmer the temperature, the more water becomes available for use by plants, fungi, and other living species. How would you predict this phenomenon would influence fungal biodiversity?

An experimental forest ecosystem is enclosed in a sealed greenhouse. The entire ecosystem, including the air and soil, is treated with an extremely potent fungicide that kills all fungal life stages including spores. What will probably happen next?